Paul Hartmut Würdig (born 30 November 1980), better known as Sido, is a German
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
. He interprets his artist name as "super-intelligentes Drogenopfer" (super-intelligent drug victim). It used to stand for "Scheiße in dein Ohr" (shit into your ear), a line from his track "Terroarr".
Sido distinguishes himself by using provocative and aggressive lyrics. After his breakthrough with his debut album ''
Maske'' in 2004, he was always seen wearing a silver skull mask. However, since 2005, he no longer wears the mask.
Würdig's career began in 1997, as one half of duo
Royal TS (now
A.i.d.S) with
B-Tight
Robert Edward Davis (born 28 December 1979), better known by his stage name B-Tight, is an American-born German rapper.
Early life
Davis was born in Palm Springs, California, to a German mother and an African American father, but grew up in B ...
, both of whom were later signed to the label Berlin hip hop
Royal Bunker and then to
Aggro Berlin in 2001. As of 2009, Sido is signed to
Urban/Universal Music Group.
Early life
Würdig was born to a German father and a
Sinti mother. At the age of eight, he and his younger sister were brought up by their mother in
East Berlin
East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...
in the
Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood. In 1988, the family moved to
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under m ...
, where they first lived in emergency accommodation in
Wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage ...
along with many asylum seekers. They then moved into
Märkisches Viertel, a high-rise residential area in the Berlin borough of
Reinickendorf. During his childhood and youth, Märkisches Viertel had a high proportion of migrants and low-income families. There he attended the Bettina-von-Arnim-Oberschule and afterwards began an apprenticeship as an educator, which he never completed.
Career
1997–2002: Early career
Sido has been active in the music business since 1997. Together with his best friend
B-Tight
Robert Edward Davis (born 28 December 1979), better known by his stage name B-Tight, is an American-born German rapper.
Early life
Davis was born in Palm Springs, California, to a German mother and an African American father, but grew up in B ...
he released several EPs and demos under the name
Royal TS, which were never officially published, at the Berlin
underground hip hop label
Royal Bunker. Sido had been friends with
DJ Tomekk for a long time. The two made a dubplate from ''Arschficksong'' and DJ Tomekk played them in clubs all over Germany, presenting Sido to a wider audience for the first time. Specter was art director for DJ Tomekk at that time. At a concert the duo got the attention of Halil, Specter and Spaiche - the later founders of the Aggro Berlin label.
2003–2004: First successes and ''Maske''
Sido's solo career began in 2002 with the "Arschficksong" ("Ass-fuck song") on the sampler ''Aggro Ansage Nr. 1'' and the "Weihnachtssong" ("Christmas song") on ''Aggro Ansage Nr. 3''.
In 2004, Sido's debut album ''
Maske'' was released, reaching No. 3 on the German charts and selling more than 180,000 copies to date, achieving gold status. The lead single "Mein Block" ("My hood") reached No. 13 on the German charts, the second single "Fuffies im Club" ("€50 notes in the club") reached No. 18 and the third single "Mama ist stolz" ("Mum is proud") reached No. 25. The original album was banned because of the song "Endlich Wochenende" ("Finally weekend") which, according to the
Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons, glorified the use of drugs. The album was rereleased under the name "Maske X" with the song "Arschficksong" in replacement of "Endlich Wochenende". The song was also published (with the video slightly censored), for the first time as a single.
In September of the same year, he won a prestigious German music award for "Best Newcomer." The best-known song from that album, "Mein Block", describes life from a resident's perspective in the
Märkisches Viertel, a low-income neighborhood of Berlin, detailing the
narcotics trade, alcoholism, problems with police, and poverty in Sido's ''Block'', or building.
2005–2006: Other projects and ''Ich''
After this debut album, together with his Label colleagues
B-Tight
Robert Edward Davis (born 28 December 1979), better known by his stage name B-Tight, is an American-born German rapper.
Early life
Davis was born in Palm Springs, California, to a German mother and an African American father, but grew up in B ...
and
Fler, he released two label samplers: ''Aggro Ansage Nr. 4'' and ''Aggro Ansage Nr. 5'' (which featured the new label artists Tony D and G-Hot).
In 2005, Sido performed with and represented
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
in the
Bundesvision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Mama ist stolz", placing 3rd with 113 points.
Later he collaborated with rapper
Harris, as the rap duo ''Deine Lieblings Rapper'' ("Your favorite rappers"). In 2005, they released their debut album ''Dein Lieblings Album'' ("Your favorite album"), with "Steh wieder auf" ("Get up again") as the only single.
In December 2006, Sido released his second album ''
Ich
Ich may refer to:
* Ich, a German pronoun meaning ''I'', also a Middle English form of ''I''
* The ego, one of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche
* ''Ich'' (album), an album by German rapper Sido
* I ...
'', which reached No. 4 in the German album charts. Three singles ("Strassenjunge", "Ein Teil von mir" and "Schlechtes Vorbild") were released. The album achieved gold status.
2007: Sektenmusik
In 2007, Sido and B-Tight (alias
A.i.d.S.
Alles ist die Sekte ("The cult is everything"), abbreviated A.i.d.S and formerly called RoyalTS, is a German hip hop duo from Berlin, composed of the rappers Sido and B-Tight.
History
After several releases through Royal Bunker, they moved to ...
) formed their label
Sektenmuzik and a rap-crew named
Die Sekte (with Rhymin Simon and Vokalmatador). Tony D joined later.
2008: ''Ich und meine Maske'' and Popstars
His third album ''
Ich und meine Maske'' was released at the end of May 2008. It reached No. 1 in the German album charts. The singles "Augen auf"/Halt dein Maul", "Carmen", "Herz", "Nein!" and "Beweg dein Arsch" had success in the charts.
In August 2008, Sido joined the seventh season of ''
Popstars'', called "
Just 4 Girls", as a jury member, along with
Detlef D! Soost and
Loona
Loona (commonly stylized in all caps or as LOOΠΔ; ; ja, 今月の少女, Kongetsu no Shōjo, Girl of the Month) is a South Korean girl group formed by Blockberry Creative. The group was introduced to the public through a pre-debut project ...
. Many people were surprised, wondering why Sido, the rapper with his provocative and aggressive lyrics, would join a TV show like ''Popstars''.
At the end of ''Popstars'', the band
Queensberry was formed.
2009: ''Aggro Berlin''
On 1 April 2009, the label Aggro Berlin was closed. Sido was then signed by
Urban Records
Urban Records is a German record label subsidiary of Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch ...
, a division of Universal Music Germany.
On 30 October 2009, Sido released his fourth studio album ''
Aggro Berlin''. The lead single "Hey du!" ranked No. 4 in the German Charts. In this song Sido talks about growing up in
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and his later life in
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under m ...
. He reported that he kept his East Berlin origins secret for a long time for fear of bullying.
Personal life
Würdig has a son, whose name and date of birth are not known publicly, but he references him in the songs "Aggro Gold" and "2010", amongst others.
He began dating former
Nu Pagadi
Nu Pagadi was a German pop band, formed in December 2004 on the fourth season of international reality television program ''Popstars''. Originally a quartet, from May 2005 a trio, the group described their own musical style as "glam rock". In ...
lead singer Doreen Steinert in mid-2005 and on 14 February 2010 they became engaged. But in April 2012 they broke off their engagement. Just a few weeks later, in early May 2012, Würdig confirmed rumors that he had started dating German TV presenter Charlotte Engelhardt. Sido had a second son with Engelhardt in 2013.
Würdig is the second cousin of the German ''
DSDS'' participant Menowin Fröhlich.
Controversy
The perceived rebellious tendencies of Sido's label affiliates
B-Tight
Robert Edward Davis (born 28 December 1979), better known by his stage name B-Tight, is an American-born German rapper.
Early life
Davis was born in Palm Springs, California, to a German mother and an African American father, but grew up in B ...
,
Fler, and G-Hot, whose persona emphasize embittered racial or class standpoints, have garnered additional discussion in widely circulated publications.
MTV HipHop Open
July 2004, Sido performed live in
Stuttgart for the festival MTV HipHop Open. During his performances he insulted
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...
rapper
Azad's mother saying: "If we had a bed right here, I'd bang Azad's mother". A week later Sido and Azad met each other backstage, and after a short dispute, it escalated into a brawl that involved the artists of
Aggro Berlin and Bozz Music. The security and the police arrived to stop the conflict, but Azad and his crew had fled already.
Schlägerei beim HipHopOpen: Stellungnahmen von Bozz Music und Aggro Berlin
Discography
Studio albums
* '' Maske'' (2004)
* ''Ich
Ich may refer to:
* Ich, a German pronoun meaning ''I'', also a Middle English form of ''I''
* The ego, one of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche
* ''Ich'' (album), an album by German rapper Sido
* I ...
'' (2006)
* '' Ich und meine Maske'' (2008)
* '' Aggro Berlin'' (2009)
* ''30.11.80'' (2013)
* ''VI'' (2015)
* ''Das goldene Album'' (2016)
* ''Ich & keine Maske'' (2019)
Live albums
* ''MTV Unplugged Live aus'm MV'' (arranged and produced by Sven Helbig) (2010)
Collaborations
* ''Dein Lieblingsalbum'' (with Deine Lieblingsrapper) (2005)
* '' Die Sekte'' (with Die Sekte) (2009)
* '' 23'' (with Bushido
is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...
) (2011)
* ''Crystals'' (with Eskimo Callboy) (2015)
* ''Royal Bunker'' (with Kool Savas) (2017)
Soundtrack
* ''Blutzbrüdaz – Die Mukke zum Film'' (with various artists) (2011)
Compilation
* ''No. Beste'' (2012)
* ''Kronjuwelen'' (2018)
Filmography
Awards and certifications
* 2004: Bravo Otto in Gold in the category "National rapper"
* 2004: Comet in the category "National Newcomer"
* 2006: Bravo Otto in silver in the category "Best Rapper National" (Sido)
* 2006: Juice-Awards: 1st place in the category "Album National" for "Ich"
* 2007: Golden Tape for 15 No. 1 rankings "Strassenjunge" in the video on MTV's TRL
* 2007: Bravo Otto in silver in the category "National Hip-Hop"
* 2009: Swiss Music Award in the category "Best Urban Album International"
* 2009: Comet in the category "Best Song"
* 2010: Echo in the category "Best Video" for "Hey Du"!
* 2010: Comet in the category "Best Song"
* 2010: MTV Europe Music Award in the category ''Best German Act''
* 2011: Comet in the category "Best Artist"
* 2012: Echo-winner in the category ''Bestes Video National for ''So mach ich es'' with Bushido
is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...
Gold Record[Auszeichnungen]
DE
AT
CH
/ref>
*Germany
** 2004: for the album "Maske"
** 2004: for the sampler "Aggro Ansage Nr. 4"
** 2005: for the sampler "Aggro Ansage Nr. 5"
** 2006: for the album "Ich"
** 2011: for the album "Ich und meine Maske"
** 2012: for the album "23"
** 2013: for the single "Der Himmel soll warten"
*Austria
** 2008: for the album "Ich und meine Maske"
** 2011: for the album "23"
** 2012: for the album "Blutzbrüdaz - die Mukke zum Film"
*Switzerland
** 2008: for the album "Ich und meine Maske"
Platinum Record
* Switzerland
** 2009: for the album "Ich und meine Maske"
Literature
*
References
External links
Official website
aggroberlin.de
on laut.de
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sido
Echo (music award) winners
German autobiographers
German people of Iranian descent
German people of Sinti descent
German rappers
Hip hop record producers
Living people
Masked musicians
Musicians from Berlin
Participants in the Bundesvision Song Contest
1980 births
German male non-fiction writers
MTV Europe Music Award winners
People from Reinickendorf